With one phase of the Combined Sewer Separation completed, it’s time to move to the next.

A big part of that, however, is payment.

In a 7-1 vote, with Alderman Bill Carrell voting against, the council adopted an ordinance authorizing the City of Metropolis to borrow funds from the Water Pollution Control Loan Program. The ordinance can be found in today’s edition of the Metropolis Planet.

The preliminary bond/borrowing ordinance is first step to determining if the city will be able to borrow money from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for the sewer separation project and the wastewater treatment plant improvements that are scheduled for the next two to three years.

While the ordinance is not binding,” the biggest benefit is to prove to the EPA that we’re still moving forward with their previously approved timeline,” explained Chad Vance with HMG Engineering. “This is a step that must be taken in order to coincide with the Long Term Control Plan that has already been approved. It’s not binding, but you have to do this to move forward.”

The vote didn’t come without discussion. A bone of contention has been the finances need to make the project move forward.

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